I like to think that, overall, 2022 was a better year than 2021. There were some down moments, to be sure - Billie Eilish won an Oscar before Lin-Manuel Miranda, I had to move my mother into hospice, Republicans retook the House, basically every celebrity we still cared about died, AMC charged us more money … Continue reading The Best (and Worst) of 2022
I am now 24 films deep into this year's field for the Animated Feature Oscar. Only three entries remain after this, and of those three, only one will definitely become available this month. The debate for me then becomes whether to watch it and give it a standalone review, wait until the other two get … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Animation Nomination, Part 3
I'd say it's kind of hard to believe that we're already halfway through the year, but I understand how calendars work, so it's not like it's a surprise or anything. That said, the last several weeks have been exceedingly busy, so it does feel like time has flowed a bit faster than normal, especially when … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – July 2022
The dog days are upon us, ladies and gentlemen (and everyone in between), and they're more dogged than ever! Half the country is in drought, my state is on fire, and the shallowest end of our collective gene pool is actively trying to get us all killed, AGAIN, because they're too selfish to put on … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – August 2021
Going into this review, I need to make one thing perfectly clear. I have not seen the entire Saw series leading up to this point. I've seen the original, which I actually rank among my all-time favorite horror movies. I enjoyed Cary Elwes' performance, I liked the central conceit of giving bad people a chance … Continue reading Going Around in Circles – Spiral: From the Book of Saw
Even though much was made about Avengers: Endgame being the end of the current incarnation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (to the point that it's been re-released with additional footage to ensure it wins the 2019 Box Office), there was technically still one more film left in the so-called "Third Phase." I think I mentioned this … Continue reading I Feel a Tingle – Spider-Man: Far From Home
"Am I the only one who's confused here?" asks the offscreen voice of an alien probing the thoughts and memories of Carol Danvers, aka Vers, aka the eventual titular Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), trying to find crucial information in the pausing, jumping, reversing, and replaying of a few scenes of her past. But really, he's … Continue reading The MCU’s Savior Arrives with a Resounding “Meh” – Captain Marvel
I meant to do this yesterday, but I just did a 16-day streak of blog posts, and in the end I decided that napping was more important. Plus, it never hurts to have a few more hours to process things. So now that the dust has settled, let's recap the proceedings. I'm not offended by Green … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Postmortem
M. Night Shyamalan has come full circle over the last 20 years. He was an instant success with The Sixth Sense, a solid box office machine with Unbreakable and Signs, a Hollywood in-joke after The Village, then poison for a decade with horrible film after horrible film. Then he started to evolve and get his mojo back with The Visit, … Continue reading I’m Campy, Thanks for Asking! – Glass
I've been a fan of Brad Bird ever since his days on The Simpsons, where he directed some classic episodes, including "Krusty Gets Busted," the first in the longstanding rivalry between Bart and Sideshow Bob. He was also a consultant on The Critic, the show that inspired this very column. He's had a brilliant career, to the … Continue reading A Sequel Worthy of the Wait – Incredibles 2
I Actually Paid To See This 